


Flowers for you

by sugarandspace



Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Alec Lightwood Deserves Nice Things, Flowers, Fluff, Implied Sexual Content, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-12
Updated: 2020-09-12
Packaged: 2021-03-06 16:34:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,094
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26431990
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sugarandspace/pseuds/sugarandspace
Summary: Alec is a Shadowhunter, he probably doesn't care about flowers, Magnus thinks as he's nervously waiting for Alec with a bouquet of red carnations in his hands.Slowly, he gets to learn how wrong he was.-.-.-Or five times Magnus gave Alec flowers.
Relationships: Magnus Bane/Alec Lightwood
Comments: 15
Kudos: 281





	Flowers for you

**Author's Note:**

> I'm popping in to give you some fluff! Written for [Malec Discord Server's](https://discord.gg/C26DBxG) Alec Lightwood Birthday Surprise event!

It had been a long time since Magnus had been on a date, even longer since he’d been on a date that meant so much. Despite all the easy flirting he’d showered Alec with, he actually felt really nervous. It is obvious that there is something between them, but so far the time they have been able to spend together has been very limited. 

Magnus looks at the bouquet of red carnations in his hand. Maybe the flowers are a bit too much? Alec is a Shadowhunter, he would probably appreciate a more practical gift. But bringing flowers to your date is a classic, and Magnus really wants to make a good impression.

That’s why he’s standing in front of Hunter’s Moon, dressed in one of his favorite outfits, his eyes glued to the bouquet in his hands. He’s just about to send them back to the loft when he hears footsteps coming closer and a familiar voice brings him back to the moment.

“Hey.” 

Magnus looks up and sees Alec come to a stop before him, and Magnus smiles, hoping his smile looks more confident than he feels. 

“Hey.”

Alec’s eyes fall to the flowers Magnus is holding and Magnus clears his throat, one of his hands coming up to fiddle with his ear cuff when he gives the flowers to Alec.

“These are for you.”

Alec’s shy smile turns wider, and Magnus knows he made the right call with the flowers.

“No one’s given me flowers before,” Alec says, his voice full of wonder. He touches one of the flowers gently before leaning down to breathe their scent in. “Thank you.”

“My pleasure,” Magnus says. He makes a decision right there, that if this thing between them works and he’ll get more dates with the man in front of him, he’s going to get him more flowers if they are going to bring out such reactions.

-.-.-

Is it a cliche? Yes. Does Magnus know it? Also yes. Has it stopped him from magicing rose petals on top of his high-quality sheets? No, it hasn’t.

The deep red of the petals contrasts beautifully against the golden sheets he’s picked for tonight, and he can’t wait to see how Alec will look like among them later.

He’ll proudly admit that he’s a romantic, and as he’s spent more and more time with Alec, he’s come to see that side of the Shadowhunter as well. And he’s hopeful his gesture will be appreciated. 

This is not the first time they’ve been intimate, the first steps into the more physical side of their relationship having been taken in the heat of a moment, with brief discussions to confirm they were on the same page.

So in that way, this is nothing new. But last night, when they were already cuddled up under the covers and drifting to sleep, Alec had brought up wanting to take it further. Magnus had wholeheartedly agreed, and they had planned for a dinner at the loft tonight. Magnus wants to make sure the night is perfect, and he’s doing some last-minute decorations as he waits for Alec to arrive. He waves his hand to summon some candles that can be lit later when he hears a knock at the door announcing Alec is here.

Magnus takes one more look around the room before he shuts the lights and leaves the room to walk to the front door.

-.-.-

Alec sighs as he takes another look at the clock. It’s late but the pile of reports on his desk doesn’t care about that. 

He picks up another report and starts reading it, but he’s easily distracted by the sound of a text notification. He picks his phone up from the desk and sees that it’s from Magnus.

_ Are we still on for tomorrow? _

Alec smiles. He’s been spending more and more time at Magnus’ loft, and tonight will actually be one of the first nights in a while that he’s going to spend at the Institute, since there’s no way he’s going to be done with all the work at a decent time.

_ Absolutely. If these reports won’t kill me first. _

Alec doesn’t even have time to put the phone away before he notices that Magnus is already typing. Realistically Alec knows that the more time he spends texting with Magnus, the later it’ll be before he’s done with the reports, but he needs this little break to be able to stay sane.

_ You have a lot to do still? I wish I knew a spell that would help you. _

Alec feels warm at the text because he knows that Magnus’ words are genuine. 

_ This is already helping. _

This time the answer is immediate and comes in the form of a heart emoji.

Alec puts his phone away and goes back to reading the reports, but the smile on his face doesn’t go away. A second later he sees something in the corner of his eye and looks up to see a vase of sunflowers on his desk that had not been there a second before. The action is followed by the sound of another text message.

_ To brighten your dull evening. _

The flowers work, because every time Alec’s eyes drift to the yellow flowers on his desk, he’s unable to fight a smile.

-.-.-

Sleeping in is a luxury Alec is not used to having. When he lived at the Institute, he was always awake early, either to join an early patrol or to train. His job as the Head of the Institute gives him a bit more steady work hours, at least when there’s not an immediate catastrophe looming over their heads, so he’s been pretty good at avoiding the mornings when he has to wake up before dawn, especially since his husband is more than happy to portal him to the Institute every morning, claiming that he’ll gladly do it if it means more time with Alec in the mornings.

Still, nothing feels better than these slow mornings when he has nowhere to be and the whole day to spend with his husband.

The only thing that would make it better would be if Magnus were in bed with him.

Alec sits up slowly, yawning and rubbing at his eyes to get rid of the sleep still clinging to them. He can hear movement from the loft and he’s just about to get out of bed to go search for his husband when Magnus walks into the room, carrying a tray.

“No,” Magnus says quickly. “Don’t get out of bed.”

Alec slides the leg he had been putting on the floor back under the covers and watches as Magnus places the tray on his lap before sitting on his own side of the bed.

“Good morning,” Magnus says and leans in to kiss Alec’s cheek. Alec turns to face him properly and is rewarded with a kiss to his lips this time.

“You made us breakfast?” Alec asks as he looks at the tray. There’s two cups of coffee on the tray and a plate of Belgian waffles with strawberries cut on top of them. There’s definitely enough on it for the both of them, but Alec doesn’t miss the fact that there‘s only one fork. He’s pretty sure it isn’t a coincidence. 

Next to the food, there is a vase with a single light pink peony. Alec knows that the choice of flower isn’t a coincidence either, and Magnus must remember how much Alec had adored the plush flowers earlier that week when Magnus had brought him a bouquet to his office.

"This looks wonderful," Alec says. "Thank you."

-.-.-

Sometimes going from the busy day at the Institute to the calmness of the loft wasn’t easy. The excess energy left over from a mission or from a training session made relaxing difficult, and more often than not Alec found himself preferring the cool air at the roof, rather than pacing the loft with nothing to do. 

Sometimes he used the energy to practice archery, but sometimes he wanted a different way to calm his mind, something else that didn’t require much thinking but that would keep his body in movement.

It had started one evening when he had forgotten his bow at the Institute, but he had still made his way to the roof while he waited for Magnus to come home.

When Alec had moved in, the roof had been no different from the rest of the loft - well put together with its furniture and lights and the few plants lining the walls. The plants had been mainly green, different kinds of vines and leafy plants that didn’t really bloom. There’d been one in the corner, a vine with small red flowers, and as Alec had paced the roof he’d stopped at it to pick one of the dead flowers away. After the one he’d noticed another, and another, and another. Magnus had found him with his palm full of wilted flowers, the vine looking much healthier now that the still blooming flowers had more room. 

The next time Alec was at the roof, there’d been two more blooming flowers and a watering can that never ran out of water.

Now Alec is sitting on the floor of the roof, still in his tactical gear from earlier (thankfully without any ichor or other various demon parts this time), making sure that the beautifully blooming blue trumpet vine is well secured to the railing behind it. The air outside is getting colder, but sometime in the past weeks, Magnus had changed his wards in a way that the air at the roof stays comfortably warm even as autumn is starting to creep on them.

Alec’s not entirely sure when it happened, but he assumes it was sometime around the time when the number of flowers on the roof kept growing.

It’s more like a garden than a few separate plants now, and the mix of colors and scents rivals the garden at the Institute. It’s a place that brings Alec calmness like few others, and he can easily get lost in tending the flowers. He never saw himself enjoying something like that, and he’s far from perfect, but he’s learning as he goes. 

He’s so lost in what he’s doing that he doesn’t realize that Magnus has arrived on the roof as well. He’s only alerted of his presence when he feels a hand on his shoulder as Magnus sits down behind him, his legs framing Alec’s where he’s kneeling on the floor, his arms coming around Alec’s waist as he rests his forehead against the space between Alec’s shoulder blades.

Alec takes one of his hands away from the flower and squeezes Magnus’ forearm.

“Long day?” Alec asks, continuing to pick wilted flowers from the vine while he waits for Magnus to talk.

“The longest,” he confirms, hugging Alec a bit closer. “I’m so happy to be home.”

“I’m happy you’re home too,” Alec says. “Do you want dinner?”

“Can we eat here?” Magnus asks.

“Of course.”

Magnus moves so he’s sitting next to Alec, leaning to his side. Alec brings his arm around his husband and pulls him closer, leaving a kiss to the top of his head.

“You know,” Magnus starts, watching as Alec tends the flower. “That’s my favorite out of all the flowers you have in here.”

“Is that so?” Alec asks, genuinely curious. The flower is far from the most colorful or grandiose flowers on the balcony, its blue flowers delicate and light in color.

“Yes,” Magnus answers, his voice quiet, fitting the calmness of the situation. “If I remember right, my mother used to have that growing under our window.”

The words make Alec halt in his movements, and his arm pulls Magnus closer, kissing his head again.

“I didn’t know.”

“As I said, it’s possible that I don’t remember it right but-” Magnus says as he reaches to touch one of the flowers gently. “I think this is the same flower.”

They stay like that for a while until there are no wilted flowers in the vine anymore, and then they have dinner on the roof before they go inside to get ready for bed. Magnus’ words never leave Alec’s mind, and on the next day when things are calmer at the Institute, instead of looking through his emails, Alec uses the tablet to look up the blue trumpet vine, and the perfect care instructions for it.

Alec is determined to make it the most beautifully blooming flower on the whole roof.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed! 
> 
> You can find me from [tumblr](https://sugarandspace.tumblr.com) and [twitter](https://twitter.com/sugarandspace_)!


End file.
